• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.203-206
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• 2017

The seroprevalence of human toxoplasmosis has been increasing in Korea, and it is controversial whether cats are an important infection source or not. This study was performed to evaluate the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in a high risk group (cat sitters) and to determine the possible importance of cats as an infection source in Korea. Risk factors, including the age, sex, and diet of cat sitters, their contact experience and contact frequency with stray cats, and origin, number, and outdoor activity of their pet cats, were analyzed using structured questionnaires. A total of 673 serum samples from people who have frequent contact with cats (high risk group) and 1,114 samples from general people (low risk group) were examined for specific IgG antibodies against T. gondii by ELISA. The results revealed that the overall seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was 7.4% (n=1,787). The seroprevalence among low risk group was 8.0% (89/1,114), whereas that among high risk group was rather lower 6.4% (43/673), though this difference was statistically not significant (P=0.211). Among the risk factors, only the outdoor activity of pet cats was important; people having cats with outdoor activities revealed 2 times higher seroprevalence than people having cats with only indoor activities (P=0.027). In conclusion, the seroprevalence of T. gondii was not significantly different between the high risk group and low risk group, and the importance of cats as a source of infection in Korea is questionable.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 1983

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of prostaglandin $E_2(PGE_2)$ and indomethacin upon the electrical activity of the isolated cat stomach muscle strips$(1.5{\times}7.0\;cm)$. Fifty-seven muscle strips, obtained from 57 cat stomachs(including corpus and antrum) were studied in a muscle chamber filled with Krebs solution(pH 7.4, temperature $36{\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$) aerated with 5% $CO_2$ in $O_2$. The electrical activity was recorded by five capillary electrodes (Ag-AgCl), of which two were placed on the corpus and three on the antrum. After recording of the electrical activity in normal Krebs solution, $PGE_2$ in concentrations of 0.25(N=7), 0.5(=7), 1(N=7) and $2{\times}10^{-7}\;M(N=6)$ were administered to 27 muscle strips, while indomethacin was applied in concentretions of 0.25(N=9), 0.5(N=10), 1(N=6) and $2{\times}10^{-3}\;M(N=5)$ to the remaining 30 strips. The mean frequency were minutely measured from each electrogastrogram. 1) By adding $PGE_2$ in all doses, gastric slow wave frequency increased significantly compared with that in resting state. 2) Following $PGE_2$ administration, peak slow wave frequency increased dose-dependently. 3) After indomethacin addition in all doses, the slow wave frequency decreased significantly compared with that in resting state. 4) Following indomethacin administration, incidence of complete abolition of slow wave increased dose-dependently, and its latent period decreased also in a dose-dependent manner. It is inferred from the above results that prostaglandin $E_2$ has a facilitatory role in the development of gastric slow wave in cat.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.308-313
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• 2023

A 1-year-old castrated male Korean Shorthair cat presented with dyspnea, anorexia, lethargy, and seizures. Physical examination revealed salivation, right forelimb hemiparesis, and rapid breathing. No abnormalities were detected on auscultation. Laboratory findings revealed increased levels of bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), globulin, glucose, and a decreased albumin-to-globulin (A:G) ratio. Both N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and feline serum amyloid A (fSAA) levels were significantly elevated. Thoracic radiography revealed mild cardiomegaly and diffuse increased interstitial infiltration with soft tissue opacity in the periphery of the right caudal pleural space. Echocardiography and lung ultrasonography were performed to investigate the cause of mild cardiomegaly and soft tissue opacity in the pleural space. Echocardiography revealed a mild amount of echogenic pericardial effusion, and lung ultrasonography showed an echogenic soft tissue mass with no blood signal in the right caudal pleural space, suggestive of a granulomatous lesion. After obtaining 5 mL of pericardial fluid through pericardiocentesis, cytology of the pericardial effusion sample revealed marked neutrophils and macrophages with no bacteria. IDEXX feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) virus real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed the presence of the FIP virus biotype in the sample. This case presents a rarely reported atypical mixed form of FIP in a cat diagnosed ante-mortem using pericardial effusion analysis. In this case, ultrasound examination played a crucial role in the definitive diagnosis of FIP by PCR biotyping through pericardiocentesis. Ultrasonography can be highly beneficial in guiding the diagnosis and evaluation of cats with suspected FIP.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.632-640
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• 2006

In this study, the biodegradative activities of monocyclic aromatic compounds were determined from the multi-drug resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii, which were studied in the form of clinical isolates from a hospital in Korea. These bacteria were capable of biodegrading monocyclic aromatic compounds, such as benzoate and p-hydroxybenzoate. In order to determine which pathways are available for biodegradation in these stains, we conducted proteome analyses of benzoate, and p-hydroxybenzoate-cultured A. baumannii DU202, using 2-DE/MS analysis. As genome DB of A. baumannii was not yet available, MS/MS analysis or de novo sequencing methods were employed in the identification of induced proteins. Benzoate branch enzymes [catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (CatA) and benzoate dioxygenase $\alpha$ subunit (BenA)] of the $\beta$-ketoadipate pathway were identified under benzoate culture condition and p-hydroxybenzoate branch enzymes [protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenas $\alpha$ subunit (PcaG) and 3-carboxy-cis,cis-muconate cycloisomerase (PcaR)] of the $\beta$-ketoadipate pathway were identified under p-hydroxybenzoate culture condition, respectively, thereby suggesting that strain DU202 utilized the $\beta$-ketoadipate pathway for the biodegradation of monocyclic aromatic compounds. The sequence analysis of two purified dioxygenases (CatA and PcaGH) indicated that CatA is closely associated with the CatA of Acinetobacter radiresistance, but PcaGH is only moderately associated with the PcaGH of Acinetobacter sp. ADPI. Interestingly, the fused form of PcaD and PcaC, carboxymuconolactone decarboxylase (PcaCD), was detected on benzoate-cultured A. baumannii DU202. These results indicate that A. baumannii DU202 exploits a different $\beta$-ketoadipate pathway from other Acinetobacter species.

• Design Convergence Study
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1-19
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• 2018

Hand rehabilitation training tools are used in hospitals and at home for patients and users who require recovery of disabled hands and improvement in overall hand function. However, existing training tools are not organized into a progressive system, and they lead to repeatability operations over a period of time. As a result, patients feel free and cannot be motivated by rehabilitation, and continuous rehabilitation training is difficult. Based on this argument, the study combines one of the elements of the game called the "Cat's cradle" to enable the user to feel achievement through play and to achieve natural rehabilitation through unconsciousness. After examining the characteristics of the tool, the user's environment, the relevance of the Cat's cradle game to the training tool and to the patient's continued rehabilitation was established. And design elements were derived through professional interviews. Later, design guidelines and prototypes have been created to complement the problems associated with guidelines and prototypes by conducting usability testing and design element assessment.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.383-383
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• 2009

Silicon is commercially prepared by the reaction of high-purity silica with wood, charcoal, and coal, in an electric arc furnace using carbon electrodes, so called the metallurgical refining process, which produces ~98% pure Si (MG-Si). This can be further purified to solar grade silicon (SoG-Si) by various techniques. The most problematic impurity elements are B and P because of their high segregation coefficients. In this study, we explored the possibility of the using Cat-CVD for Si purification. The existing hot-wire CVD was modified to accommodate the catalyzer and the heating source. Mo boat (1.5 cm ${\times}$ 1 cm ${\times}$ 0.2 cm) was used as a heating source. Commercially available Si was purchased from Nilaco corporation (~99% pure). This powder was kept in the Mo-boat and heated to the purification temperature. In addition to the purification by cat-CVD technique, other methods such as thermal CVD, plasma enhanced CVD, vacuum annealing was also tried. It is found that the impurities are reduced to a great extent when treated with cat-CVD method.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.187-190
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• 2015

An 18-month-old female spayed domestic short-haired cat, weighing 4.1 kg, was presented as an emergency case after it suffered a gunshot injury. Physical examination of the cat revealed paraplegia, with loss of deep nociception. A bullet (diameter, 3 mm) lodged in the left epaxial muscle at the level of the first lumbar (L1) was observed on radiographic examination, and a hyperattenuating spot in the spinal canal was confirmed using computed tomography. Exploratory laminectomy was performed, and an incomplete fracture of the right caudal articular process of L1 and a necrotizing spinal cord lesion were found. The animal was euthanized and necropsy was performed, which revealed a crack on the left pedicle of L1. This case report presents the first detailed clinical description of a gunshot injury to the spinal cord in a cat.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.884-890
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• 2007

A mechanism of hair cell damage caused by noise and ototoxic agents is mediated through generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species(ROS). It is known that most of animals have defense systems of ROS that protect against ROS, and the cochlea of animals also has ROS defense system, which appear efficient in detoxifying ROS generated under normal condition. This system includes several antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase(CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and glutathione reductase(GR). The radix of Pueraria thunbergiana(P. thunbergiana) is traditionally prescribed to attenuate the clinical manifestation of inner ear dysfunction and various clinical situations including fevers, gastrointestinal disorders, skin problems, migraine headaches, lowering cholesterol, and treating chronic alcoholism in Oriental Medicine. In the present study, to investigate the protection mechanism of ${\beta}-sitosterol$ from P. thunbergiana on cisplatin cytotoxicity toward HEI-OC1, we measured the effects of ${\beta}-sitosterol$ on activities of SOD, CAT, GPX, and GR in cisplatin treated cells. SOD, CAT, GPX, and GR activities were significantly increased in the presence of 0.001-0.1 ${\mu}g/ml$ of ${\beta}-sitosterol$ compared to the control group. These results indicate that ${\beta}-sitosterol$ protects cisplatin-induced HEI-OC1 cell damage through increasing the antioxidant enzyme system such as SOD, CAT, GPX, and GR.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.663-668
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• 2023

This paper describes a mobile application that can recognize and identify cats residing on a university campus using the Google's machine learning platform, 'Teachable Machine'. Machine learning, one of the core technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, performs an efficient task of finding optimal results through data learning. Therefore, the model is learned and generated using the platform based on machine learning, and then implemented as an application for smartphones, so that cats can be identified simply and efficiently. In this application, if you take a picture of a cat directly on the spot or call it from the gallery, the cat is identified and information about the cat is provided. Though this system was developed for a specific university campus, it is expected that it can be extended to other campuses and other species of animals.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.299-309
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• 1995

A geometrical inverse heat conduction problem is solved for the development of Infrared Computerized-Axial-Tomography (IR CAT) Scan by using a boundary element method in conjunction with regularization procedure. In this problem, an overspecified temperature condition by infrared scanning is provided on the surface, and is used together with other conditions to solve the position of an unknown boundary (cavity). An auxiliary problem is introduced in the solution of this problem. By defining a hypothetical inner boundary for the auxiliary problem domain, the cavity is located interior to the domain and its position is determined by solving a potential problem. Boundary element method with regularization procedure is used to solve this problem, and the effects of regularization on the inverse solution method are investigated by means of numerical analysis.